International Cricket Council outlines schedule for global events

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The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Executive Board met in Singapore this week prior to the ICC Annual Conference meeting. During the two days of Board meetings they made the following decisions:

Decision Review System (DRS): Following recommendations from the ICC Cricket Committee and minor amendments from the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC), the ICC Board approved 13 recommendations relating to the use of DRS in Test matches and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

One of the decisions is that the host Member would determine whether to use DRS in home Test series (following consultation with the visiting country). It was also agreed that DRS would be used in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 if agreement can be reached with the ICC’s broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports, the host Members (Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka) and if there is sufficient technology available to operate DRS in a global event.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “The detailed work of the ICC Cricket Committee gave both the CEC and the ICC Board excellent direction and there was full agreement that technology would be used whenever possible. We have all seen the benefits of using DRS to assist umpires in Test cricket and we are now keen to use DRS in the ICC Cricket World Cup. We also acknowledge and we are grateful for the support provided by broadcasters and technology suppliers around the world during the development phase of DRS.”

Wanderers Test Match / DRS review: Following the issues raised with the DRS in the Wanderers Test match between South Africa and England in January 2010, the preliminary findings of Advocate Brent Lockie and ICC Cricket Committee chairman Clive Lloyd acknowledges that the technology failure at the time adversely impacted on the information received by the third umpire Daryl Harper while making his decision. The ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed that the third umpire in the match, Daryl Harper, was entirely blameless due to this technical failure.

The ICC Cricket Committee, which met in London on May 20, has already sought to clarify the process concerning re-instatement of reviews to address such technical failure. Its recommendation has been approved by the ICC Board at its meetings in Singapore. Haroon Lorgat said: “I am encouraged by everyone’s ongoing willingness to improve the future application of DRS.”

Future Tours Programme and context and content for international cricket: The CEC and Governance Review Committee working groups met jointly in Singapore to consider the playing structure for international cricket and the implications for ICC membership. This included a wide ranging discussion on the ICC events programme post-2015; the frequency and format of ICC global events and qualification for those events; the introduction of Test and ODI leagues as a means of providing context to Test and ODI cricket and the principles of operating those leagues.

To assist in developing a workable proposition, the CEC working group, comprising David Collier (England and Wales), Nishantha Ranatunga (Sri Lanka), N Srinivasan (India), James Sutherland (Australia) and David Richardson (ICC General Manager – Cricket), will meet again with the ICC Governance Review Committee of Jack Clarke (Australia), Imran Khwaja (Associate Members) and David Becker (ICC Head of Legal) before submitting a firm proposal for the CEC to consider at its September meeting.

Mr Lorgat added: “Although we have made good progress, this exercise requires more work. We know there are exciting opportunities to protect and promote all three formats but we must exercise patience as we consider all aspects in introducing context and content in international cricket. There is clearly an appetite from all quarters to examine the make-up of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 and seek the best balance between excellence and development. In terms of the number of participating teams, it is possible that the World Cup could be reduced and the World Twenty20 expanded."

Anti-Doping Code: The ICC Board approved the revised rules with minor amendments to be agreed relating to the detailed “whereabouts” provision of the ICC Anti-doping Code. The code will come into effect on August 1, 2010.

Haroon Lorgat said: “I am satisfied that we have now resolved the long outstanding issue of filing whereabouts information and the contribution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in finding a solution needs to be acknowledged. This is a complex area for players and administrators.”

Seychelles Affiliate Membership: The ICC Board agreed to recommend to the Annual Conference that the Seychelles Cricket Association should become the 105th Member of the ICC. The Board also received an update from the Pakistan Task Team and reconfirmed its support for the playing of international cricket by Pakistan.

The Associate and Affiliate Members have elected Imran Khwaja, Keith Oliver and Neil Speight to represent them on the ICC Board. The ICC President David Morgan paid tribute to Samir Inamdar of Kenya for his contribution to the ICC over the past four years. He was replaced by Mr Oliver from Scotland.